There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur or small business owner in Saskatchewan!One of the largest advantages that entrepreneurs have today is the fact that the world has become increasingly interconnected. Technology is more accessible and affordable than ever, making it possible to collaborate with people around the world, as well as to market products and services globally. By harnessing the power of social media, promoting your business in effective and creative ways has never been easier, mitigating the necessity of the expensive advertising campaigns of the past.
We’ve compiled a list of interesting on-trend business ideas that offer both emerging and serial entrepreneurs a wide range of possibilities to explore, expand and consider. While some of the suggestions may be more intriguing and exciting than others, it’s always important to keep in mind this golden rule in business: simplify to amplify. The secret to profitability in business very often resides in simply meeting a need that has been previously unmet.
While the majority of these ideas may not have the capacity to transform you into a mogul, some present the opportunity for steady earnings while others offer the freedom and flexibility that many entrepreneurs crave. And of course, there are countless ideas that didn’t make this list that could easily be developed into viable and successful small businesses.
1) Businesses Catering to Baby Boomers
The growing numbers of aging baby boomers across the province provides a wealth of business opportunities for senior care and services. Think outside the box of in-home care and senior residences and consider all the related opportunities such as driving, delivery, beauty needs, catering and cleaning services for seniors who want to remain in their homes. As people live longer, there will continue to be an increasing need for senior services of all sorts.
2) Recycling Pickup
Many of the smaller communities in Saskatchewan have not yet instituted a comprehensive recycling program. In addition to standard recyclables like paper, glass and plastic, people are amassing large amounts of e-waste such as broken cellphones, out-of-order laptops and old televisions in their basements and garages. These items, along with batteries, can be extremely harmful to the environment when they are not properly disposed of. Consider creating a service to pick-up and properly dispose of these items – someone else’s trash could in fact be your treasure!
3) Franchises
Why start from scratch when the business model has already been designed for you?With a franchise,so many aspects of the operations have already been established and tested for your benefit: including branding, marketing, processes, products and systems. With thousands of franchises operating in dozens of industries, there is no shortage of options for individuals exploring this kind of business opportunity.
From restaurants to education services to retail, the franchise possibilities are endless. The key is to ensuring that your selection is in alignment with your interests and investment ability, while also considering the availability of a market to support your choice. Get started by exploring these Canadian websites dedicated to franchise purchase: www.betheboss.ca and http://canada.businessesforsale.com/canadian/franchises.
4) Training and Facilitation Services
If you're an expert in a particular field or proficient in a specialized software or skill, you can get paid handsomely to pass your knowledge on to amateurs and professionals looking to expand certain targeted abilities. Through either small group workshops or private one-on-one sessions, the opportunity exists to monetize your unique skill sets and experience.
5) Food Truck
For all of the foodies and aspiring restaurateurs out there, a food truck may be a creative and investment-savvy alternative to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Food trucks are steadily gaining in popularity and this is an industry on the rise. A truck is far less cost-prohibitive than real estate, while also giving you the benefit of mobility.With the right equipment and some novel and tasty offerings, you can have your movable eatery up and running in no time at all!
6) Freelancing and Consulting
Companies across a wide variety of industries are increasingly turning to freelance and contract professionals to fill their human resource gaps. Many organizations are now outsourcing non-core business functions to third parties, which creates a ripe business opportunity for anyone who can provide marketing, human resources, healthcare management or any other service a business needs.Other in-demand freelance services are: data entry, academic writing, data processing, research projects and social media management – just to name a few.
The business-to-business services field is widely dispersed and not dominated by any large players. As a result, Ii's not hard to imagine building an entire company around providing freelance or consulting services of one kind or another. Moreover, this fragmentation gives small businesses the opportunity to highly specialize and focus on distinct niches. For example, one particularly burgeoning need in our global marketplace is the provision of interpretation and translation services. The increasing amount of cross-cultural communication is creating a growing necessity to connect foreign-language speakers with businesses in need.
As you consider this list of ideas, remember that Community Futures is here to support you with the advice, guidance and possibly even funding to launch your newest endeavour.
